Surveillance systems that prevent or deter theft of merchandise from retail stores are well known in the art. For example, retail stores often utilize electronic article surveillance (EAS) markers or tags that activate an alarm upon removal of the product from the store in order to discourage the theft of consumer products. These types of markers are typically secured to the product and are either removed or rendered inactive at checkout. In some cases the markers are visible to consumers, and in other cases the markers are hidden from view in order to prevent unauthorized removal. In either case, if the markers are not rendered inactive or removed, they will be sensed by the EAS system causing an alarm to signal, usually when exiting the retail store. The use of such markers or tags to trigger an alarm has been successful in deterring the theft of most types of merchandise. However, the use of such markers with certain types of merchandise has not always been successful due to the nature of the products to be tagged. For example, some products are inherently difficult to tag, either due to their size or ease of removal of the tag. One higher price item that is difficult to effectively attach an electronic sensor to is a ring. It can be difficult to attach sensors to the band or shank of a ring because if the sensors are overly rigid or cumbersome they can limit the customer's ability to try on the ring before purchasing. However, if the tag is easily removed it will not serve as a deterrent. Thus, tags to prevent theft are often attached to rings by using a thin, yet flexible, tear resistant plastic strap.
For example, one such tag is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,498. In the '498 patent the anti-theft tag includes an elongated housing that is attached to the ring by a tear resistant strap that is secured to an outer surface of the tag by a pressure sensitive adhesive. The tag is inserted within a ring display system that includes slots for receiving the body of the anti-theft tag. While generally effective, attaching the strap to the outside of a tag may allow a consumer to tamper with the attachment of the strap in an attempt to remove it.
Another such tag is U.S. Pat. No. 7,714,721, which is owned by the assignee of the present application. In the '721 patent the anti-theft tag includes an elongated housing for accommodating an EAS marker, a product support member that locks into the housing and which supports the ring, and a flexible, tear resistant strap for securing the ring to the support member, with the strap being disposed at least partially within the housing during use. In use, the tear resistant strap extends over the ring shank and the ends of the strap are received within the cavity of the housing in order to protect the strap from unauthorized removal by a consumer.
Alternately, anti-theft markers may be hidden in a holder displaying the product, for example by hiding an EAS marker in a display box for holding and displaying the ring. Although placing the marker in the holder displaying the product has also had some success, if the product is removed from the holder, it no longer has an anti-theft tag associated with it.
Thus, a person desiring to steal an item, such as an article of jewelry (for example a ring), will often simply remove the ring from its display box as they pretend to try on the ring. When the ring is removed from the box, the thief leaves behind any EAS marker contained in the box. In an attempt to deter the theft of expensive items of jewelry, some retailers lock the items behind display cases, and only remove them upon the request of the customer. This requires the retailer to take out each item of jewelry individually and stay with the customer as he or she handles the item, because upon removal from the locked case the item becomes vulnerable to theft, which is time consuming and cumbersome.